1647 - Second Civil war

What was the First Presbyterian mistake?

• After the defeat of Charles, the army was a significant political power player in its own right and it didn’t stop other political actors from misjudging it.

• By March 1647, the Presbyterian faction in Parliament had attempted to disband the New Model Army without settling arrears of pay and guaranteeing indemnity from prosecutions for actions carried out under orders or making any provision for the relief of wounded soldiers, war widows or orphans.

What were the consequences of the First Presbyterian mistake?

• Petition circulated amongst the soldiers settling in their grievances and many officers supported the petition.

• Parliament demanded suppression and declared that anyone that supported the petition were "enemies of state”.

• Eight cavalry regiments elected two agitators each to convey the soldiers’ view to the senior officers then the Grandees.

• Parliament was unnerved at the state of the unrest, yet foolishly persisted in trying to disband the Army without settlement of the soldiers’ grievances.

What was the response of the army?

It was radical.

• Under pressure from the Agitators, Fairfax agreed to hold a redezous of the army set up at Newmarket in June 1647.

• Joyce then took Charles to Newmarket under protective custody.

What was the significance of the army’s response?

• It showed that Parliament could not negotiate with the king without the Army’s approval.

• It showed the power of the rank and file soldiery which led to the opposition against the army as ordinary people saw them as a threat to social order.

What was the influence of the Levellers?

• The rank and file soldiery got their ideas and good deal of support from levellers.

• They were a radical London-based political grouping that grew in popularity amongst the common people of the city from 1646 and onwards.

• They sought to not only toleration for the sects but also the abolition of the monarchy, House of Lords and the establishment of the supremacy of the House of Commons which was to be made responsible to an expanded electorate.

What are Grandees?

Senior officers of the New Model Army during the English Civil War.

What is a Leveller?

A political movement in Stuart Britain who advocated for popularity sovereignty, equality before law and religious tolerance. 

What the agreement of the people in October 1647?

• The Levellers argued that sourveign power should reside in the people of England rather than with discredited King or Parliament.

What was the original agreement of the people?

• Peoples’ representations should be elected in proportion to the populations of their constitutions.

• The existing parliament should be dissolved by 30th September 1648.

• Future parliaments should be elected biennially and sit every othe year from April to September.

What was the Heads of Proposals?

A set of peace proposals created by the New Model Army in 1647, during the First English Civil War, to establish a constitutional settlement between the army and King Charles.

When was the Heads of Proposals?

July 1647.

What happened in the Head of Proposals?

• Charles had appeared to be willing to compromise, so Ireton and Lambert drew up proposals for a constitutional settlement. 

Why was the Head of Proposals a good deal?

• It was virtually identical to the Toleration Act of 1889. This makes it ahead of its time.

What was Charles’s response to the Head of Proposals?

• He would not accept his defeat at the hands of Parliament in the Civil war.

• He was terrified by the rise of the Levellers and did not think that the Grandees’ Head of Proposal would give him the full-blown restoration of his power that he wanted.

What did Charles I do after the Head of Proposals?

• He fled to the Isle of Wright in November 1647, mistakingly thinking he had important supporters there but actually ended up in custody of supporters of Parliament. This did not stop him from engaging in plots to restart the Civil war.

What was the Putney debates?

It was a series of discussions in 1647 between factions of the New Model Army and Levellors about a new constitution for England after the First English Civil War.

What were the outcomes of the Putney debates?

It ultimately broke up without reaching a resolution. 

What was the Engagement of 1647?

It was a secret treaty with the Scots who would invade England in 1648.

When was the Engagement of 1647 signed?

26th December.

What did Charles originally do before the Engagement of 1647?

Charles tried to obtain an army of Irish Catholics to fight for him in England.

What were the consequences of the Engagement of 1647?

• When Charles fled, the Levellers became almost irrelevant as their criticism of the Grandees were swept under the rug.

• The New Model Army united again.

• Parliament became united in 1648 and there would be no further negotiations with the King. 

When did the Second English Civil war start and finish?

February - August 1648

Why did the New Model Army win the Second English Civil War again?

• The Engager invasion in Northern England was badly co-ordinated with the uprisings in England and Wales (Royalist uprisings in Kent, Essex and Cumberland).

• They were able to mobilise and suppress the insurrecters before dealing with Engagers.

• Scotland’s invasion (Battle of Preston) into England failed due to the New Model Army.

What was the aftermath of the Second English Civil War?

• England was politically more divided than ever and as Royalists who fought in this war had fought for Parliament in the First.

• Independent party was in a statement of disbandment.

• The rebellions in Puritan heartland of Essex and Kent had been a stark warning that a settlement had to be reached quickly.

• Lord Saye and Lord Sele had gotten down on their knees to beg Charles to come to term.

What did Charles say as a response to Lord Sele and Lord Saye?

“resolved rather to shipwreck my person than their conscience or belief”.

What was done to settle with the King?

• The Presbyterians and Independents now moved to settle with him.

• House of Commons had voted 165 to 99 not to alter the “fundamental Government of the kingdom, by kings, lords and common” 28th April 1648

• Parliament revoked the vote of no addresses and began a new round of negotiations known as the Treaty of Newport.